Beverage container recycling is a major industry. Beverage container deposit laws, commonly called bottle deposit laws, are common in numerous states.
Under bottle deposit laws a bottling company usually sells the bottle and contents to a distributor. The distributor charges each retailer who receives the full bottles the amount of the usual bottle deposit. When the retailer sells the full bottle to a retail customer, the retailer charges the retail customer the amount of the bottle deposit paid to the distributor. When the customer returns the empty bottle to the retailer, the retailer pays the customer the amount of the bottle deposit. Employees of the retailer customarily are supposed to put 240 bottles or cans in an appropriate bag which is then sold back to the distributor by the retailer.
The volume of cans and bottles placed in a bag by a retailer for return to a distributor is variable depending on the amount of shaking given to the bag or box in which the empty containers are placed for return to the distributor.
It is common practice for distributors to supply the retailer with the boxes and bags in which the distibutor wants the used bottles to be returned, which is usually designed for a fixed amount such as 240 cans or bottles. A retailer who places more than 240 cans or bottles in the container to be returned to the distributor loses money by having paid the retail customer the full amount of the deposit for each can or bottle received and then only charging the distributor for 240 cans or bottles when more than 240 cans or bottles are placed in the box or bag for return to the distributor.
Some beverage distributors are known to have encouraged retailer mistakes by supplying the retailers with boxes and bags which are larger than needed for return of 240 cans or bottles and which may be marked with a line to indicate a full bag or box which is higher than the level of 240 cans or bottles in the bag or box. The distributor thus benefits both from receiving the benefit of retailer mistakes and receiving a scrap allowance for return of the bottles and cans.
Retailers having large stores utilize expensive can counting machines which each cost several thousand dollars, most of which also compress bottles and cans to fit into small bags or boxes for return to distributors.
Small retailers can't afford expensive counters and can't afford paying employees to laboriously count and log in a record book the quantity of cans and bottles received for return to the various distributors with whom the small store does business. Thus the small retailers each lose a considerable quantity of bottle deposit money to the distributors.
Since each store purchases beverages from several distributors, each store has to maintain a warehouse space for bottle returns in which numerous bags and boxes are situated for receiving each of the various types of beverage containers handled by the retailer.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide apparatus for counting objects as they are placed in a bin.
It is a further object of this invention to provide counting apparatus which places a shroud over a top of a bin to separate counted objects from non-counted objects and which counts objects as they are passed through the shroud into the bin.
It is a further object of this invention to provide counting apparatus which utilizes a shroud to cover a bin, which counts objects as they are passed through the shroud into the bin, and which contains a recess in the shroud to hold one of the objects being counted to display the nature of the objects which are being passed through the shroud.